QUAERITUR: Can I receive Communion at two Masses in one day?

Posted on 14 May 2010 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

From a reader, a question that pops up every once in a while.  Adhering to the adage repetita iuvant, here is the question and response:

It used to be the rule that you could could go to Communion only once a day, a rule that is in itself sensible.

But I heard that this is now permitted for a sufficient reason.

I sing in the schola for the Ordinary Form at 7:00 am.

But then twice a month we have the Extraordinary Form at 10:30 am, which I like to attend in addition with my family.

Can I go to Communion at both?

 

The quick answer is YES, you may receive Holy Communion at both those Masses.

The 1983 Code of Canon Law says:

Can. 917 – Qui sanctissimam Eucharistiam iam recepit, potest eam iterum eadem die suscipere solummodo intra eucharisticam celebrationem cui participat, salvo praescripto Can. 921, § 2. … Someone who has already received the Most Holy Eucharist can receive it again (iterum) on the same day only within the Eucharistic celebration [i.e. Mass] in which the person participates, with due regard for the prescription of can. 921 § 2.

Can. 921 § 2 says that if a person is in danger of death, he may receive Communion even it is not in the context of Mass.  That is Viaticum.

That iterum does not mean "again and again", but merely "again one more time".

Also, that "Eucharistic celebration" in the canon does not mean just any service involving Communion.  It means Mass. That was cleared up by the Holy See in an official response to a dubium.

So, say in the morning you were at a Novus Ordo Communion service wherein you received Communion, or a Mass in either Form.  Later in the day you stumble into a church where Mass was about to be celebrated and decided to stay for it.  At that Mass you could receive Communion again (iterum).  This would be even if you were, say, visiting a Maronite Catholic Church, or a Ukrainian Catholic Church and their Divine Liturgy was about to get under way. 

However, if you were at Holy Mass in the morning and then stumbled into a Communion service at a priest-less parish in the afternoon, you could NOT receive again because a Communion Service isn’t Mass.  If you were at Mass in the morning and then in the afternoon when you were visiting your auntie in the hospital when the chaplain came, you could not receive even if the priest invited you to do so (which in my opinion he should not).

Canon 917 tries to walk the line between promoting frequent reception of the Eucharist and a superstitious or excessive frequency, which I can assure you some people fall into.

The key here is that the second time must be during a Mass, unless it is as Viaticum and you may not enter the Mass at some late point merely in order to receive.

Posted in ASK FATHER Question Box | Tagged
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STOP THE PRESSES! POPE DENOUNCES HOMOSEXUAL MARRIAGE!! IN PUBLIC!!!

Posted on 13 May 2010 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

I’m SHOCKED!

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The Pope has… and I can hardly bring myself to write this… spoken against HOMOSEXUAL MARRIAGE!

Can you imagine such a thing?

The Pope of Rome has denoucced "marriage" between people of the same sex?!?

The best thing about this, is the panicky report of this sent by a reader.

It is just to good not to show you as it appears in this AFP piece.

Isn’t that great?  Just a headline and a single sentence.  No context. Just…

GASP!

"But Father! But Father!" you may be whispering.  "You mention the context.  What was it?  What did the Pope really say?"

The Holy Father delivered this genuine shocker when address social organizations.

Here is part of the talk with me emphases and comments:

[…]

Often, however, it is not easy to arrive at a satisfactory synthesis between spiritual life and apostolic activity. The pressure exerted by the prevailing culture, which constantly holds up a lifestyle based on the law of the stronger, on easy and attractive gain, ends up influencing our ways of thinking, our projects and the goals of our service, and risks emptying them of the motivation of faith and Christian hope which had originally inspired them. [Be sure to review Deus caritas est and Spe salvi.  We need a strong identity to hold ourselves upright, faithfully Catholic, in the public square.  Remember that Holy Father spoke of martyrdom when he arrived in Portugal.  He has also exhorted them not to be afraid to show faith in the public square.] The many pressing requests which we receive for support and assistance from the poor and marginalized of society impel us to look for solutions which correspond to the logic of efficiency, quantifiable effects and publicity. Nonetheless, the synthesis which I mentioned above is absolutely necessary, dear brothers and sisters, if you are to serve Christ in the men and women who look to you. In this world of division, all of us are called to have a profound and authentic unity of heart, spirit and action. [Unity in the Catholic Faith.]

The many social institutions which serve the common good, and are close to those in need, include those of the Catholic Church. [Here we go!  Catholic identity for the sake of working in the world….] The guiding principles of the latter need to be clear, so that they can be clearly identifiable by the inspiration of their aims, in the choice of their human resources, in their methods of operation, in the quality of their services, and in the serious and effective management of their means. The solid identity of these institutions provides a real service, and is of great help to those who benefit from them. Beyond this issue of identity, and connected with it, it is a fundamental step to ensure that Christian charitable activity is granted autonomy and independence from politics and ideologies (cf. Deus Caritas Est, 31b), even while cooperating with state agencies in the pursuit of common goals. [How did that work in Washington DC recently?]

The services you provide, and your educational and charitable activities, must all be crowned by projects of freedom whose goal is human promotion and universal fraternity. Here we can locate the urgent commitment of Christians in defence of human rights, with concern for the totality of the human person in its various dimensions. [Totality of the human person includes respect for God’s creation.] I express my deep appreciation for all those social and pastoral initiatives aimed at combating the socio-economic and cultural mechanisms which lead to abortion, and are openly concerned to defend life and to promote the reconciliation and healing of those harmed by the tragedy of abortion. Initiatives aimed at protecting the essential and primary values of life, beginning at conception, and of the family based on the indissoluble marriage between a man and a woman, [only… not two women, or two men, or three or four, or a combination of same, or of children or dogs or any other critter.] help to respond to some of today’s most insidious and dangerous threats to the common good. Such initiatives represent, alongside numerous other forms of commitment, essential elements in the building of the civilization of love.

All this fits very closely with the message of Our Lady which resounds in this place: penance, prayer and forgiveness aimed at the conversion of hearts. In this way you are building the civilization of love, whose seeds God has sown in the heart of every man and woman, to which faith in Christ the Saviour gives abundant growth.

So,… what the Pope thinks is "insidious and dangerous" included more than just homosexual unions falsely defined as "marriage".
 

Posted in Biased Media Coverage, Pope of Christian Unity, Throwing a Nutty |
8 Comments

17 May – Turin, Italy – Solemn TLM, monks and Abbot of Le Barroux

Posted on 13 May 2010 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

From Romualdica I learn that, for the occasion of the display of the Shroud of Turin, monks and the Abbot from the traditional Benedictine Abbey of Sainte-Madaleine at Le Barroux, France, will have a Solemn Abbatial (Extraordinary Use) Mass in Turin at the Church of the Santi Martiri (Via Garibaldi 25).

The Mass will be on 17 May at 10:15.

Those of you traveling in or near Turin (Torino, Italy) will want to participate in this.  The monks from Le Barroux sing chant as well as any choir I have ever heard.

Posted in The Campus Telephone Pole | Tagged , ,
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The C of E’s church in Rome to host fake ordination of a woman

Posted on 13 May 2010 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

From the Times comes this telling tale about the future of Anglican/Vatican relations:

May 13, 2010
Italy to ordain the first woman priest near Vatican

Italy’s first woman [fake] priest is [not] to be ordained a stone’s throw from the Vatican later this month. [You would have to throw that stone pretty hard.]

Maria Vittoria Longhitano, 35, a member of the Italian Old Catholic Church, a breakaway group not recognised by the Vatican, will be ordained at All Saints Church, near the Spanish Steps in Rome, on 22 May. [This is the Church of England church in the City.]

A spokeswoman for All Saints Church said Ms Longhitano, who is married, was not being ordained as an Anglican. “We are offering our church as the venue because the Old Catholics have no venue of their own in Rome,” she said. “They use our facilities for their regular worship.” [But consider what they are going to do in their church.]

The Old Catholics, founded in the early 19th century in an attempt to set up a national Italian denomination separate from Rome, do not accept a number of central Catholic doctrines including papal infallibility and the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary.  [And apparently some other things too.]

Ms Longhitano, a teacher in Miian with a degree in philosophy and theology, became a [fake] deacon last year. She will [not] be ordained by Bishop Fritz-René Müller of the Union of Utrecht, to which the Italian Old Catholics are affiliated.

She said that she had dreamed of being a priest since childhood, and her [pretend] ordination “represents a great opportunity for women of faith”. [The greatest opportunity to endanger souls, perhaps.] She hoped that it would “stimulate a debate among Catholics” on female ordination, which has been definitively ruled out by successive Popes, including Pope Benedict XVI.

 

The C of E’s church in Rome, allowing this to take place in their church, in Rome.

Niiiiice.

UPDATE 14 May 0047 GMT:

The great Fr. Blake, P.P. of Brighton has a great comment on his blog about this:

 

When the Archbishop of Canterbury wanted a largish celebration in Rome to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of the All Saints Anglican Centre in Rome, the diocese of Rome allowed him to use a Roman Basillica of S Sabina, [Which was wrong.] it even allows him to carry a crozier, a symbol of authority. How does All Saints respond? It makes itself available for the ordination of an Old Catholic women priest, who herself claims it is a stunt, "to stimulate a debate amongst Catholics".

Maybe Benson had something when he coined the phrase, "Old Mother Damnable".

 

Well done.

Posted in The Drill |
17 Comments

Pray for Pope Benedict

Posted on 12 May 2010 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

The Holy Father is clearly feeling the heavy burden of his office.

Let us all pray more frequently for the Holy Father and remind others to do the same.

From the the Enchiridion of Indulgences, #25:

A partial indulgence is granted to the Christian faithful who, in a spirit of filial devotion, devoutly recite any duly approved prayer for the Supreme Pontiff (e.g., the Oremus pro Pontifice):

V. Let us pray for our Pontiff, Pope Benedict.

R. May the Lord preserve him, and give him life, and bless him upon earth, and deliver him not to the will of his enemies.

Our Father.  Hail Mary.

Let us pray.

O God, Shepherd and Ruler of all Thy faithful people, look mercifully upon Thy servant Benedict, whom Thou hast chosen as shepherd to preside over Thy Church. Grant him, we beseech Thee, that by his word and example, he may edify those over whom he hath charge, so that together with the flock committed to him, may he attain everlasting life. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Here are some trinkets which you might consider in this cause, to help reminded people to pray for the Holy Father.

With the help of "Vincenzo", the official WDTPRS photoshopper, I made a cafepress store for buttons and the like.

If you are in the USA…

Get Pro Pontifice stuff here.

If you are in the UK…

You can get the Pro Pontifice stuff here.

If you are an Aussie …

You can get Pro Pontifice stuff here.

If you are a Canadian …

You can get Pro Pontifice stuff here.

There are also mugs and a hat and some shirts and the like.

There are as well packs of 100 buttons in different sizes which you could distribute to people.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fk6M0B5A2Qk]

Posted in Pope of Christian Unity | Tagged ,
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Benedict XVI entrusts and consecrates the world’s priests the Immaculate Heart of Mary

Posted on 12 May 2010 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

In Fatima, the Holy Father Pope Benedict, in the Church of the Most Holy Trinity, entrusted all the priests of the world to Mary’s Immaculate Heart.

To revitalize the Church’s identity, we must revitalize the Church’s priests.

Here is the text, with my emphases and comments.  

   

Immaculate Mother,
in this place of grace,
called together by the love of your Son Jesus
the Eternal High Priest, we,
sons in the Son and his priests,
consecrate ourselves to your maternal Heart,
in order to carry out faithfully the Father’s Will.

We are mindful that, without Jesus,
we can do nothing good (cf. Jn 15:5)
and that only through him, with him and in him,
will we be instruments of salvation
for the world.

Bride of the Holy Spirit,
obtain for us the inestimable gift
of transformation in Christ.
Through the same power of the Spirit that
overshadowed you,
making you the Mother of the Saviour,
help us to bring Christ your Son
to birth in ourselves too.
May the Church
be thus renewed by priests who are holy,
priests transfigured by the grace of him
who makes all things new.

Mother of Mercy,
it was your Son Jesus who called us
to become like him:
light of the world and salt of the earth
(cf. Mt 5:13-14).

Help us,
through your powerful intercession,
never to fall short of this sublime vocation,
nor to give way to our selfishness,
to the allurements of the world
and to the wiles of the Evil One.

Preserve us with your purity,
guard us with your humility
and enfold us with your maternal love
that is reflected in so many souls
consecrated to you,
who have become for us
true spiritual mothers.

Mother of the Church,
we priests want to be pastors
who do not feed themselves
but rather give themselves to God for their brethren,
finding their happiness in this.
Not only with words, but with our lives,
we want to repeat humbly,
day after day,
Our “here I am”. [This is a reference to the Latin "adsum" response when a ordinands name is called at his ordination.]

Guided by you,
we want to be Apostles
of Divine Mercy,
glad to celebrate every day
the Holy Sacrifice of the Altar
and to offer to those who request it
the sacrament of Reconciliation.

Advocate and Mediatrix of grace,
you who are fully immersed
in the one universal mediation of Christ, [This seems to come close to "Co-redemptrix"]
invoke upon us, from God,
a heart completely renewed
that loves God with all its strength
and serves mankind as you did.

Repeat to the Lord
your efficacious word:
“They have no wine” (Jn 2:3),
so that the Father and the Son will send upon us
a new outpouring of
the Holy Spirit.
Full of wonder and gratitude
at your continuing presence in our midst,
in the name of all priests
I too want to cry out:
“Why is this granted me,
that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” (Lk 1:43).

Our Mother for all time,
do not tire of “visiting us”,
consoling us, sustaining us.
Come to our aid
and deliver us from every danger
that threatens us.
With this act of entrustment and consecration,
we wish to welcome you
more deeply, more radically,
for ever and totally
into our human and priestly lives.

Let your presence cause new blooms to burst forth
in the desert of our loneliness,
let it cause the sun to shine on our darkness,
let it restore calm after the tempest,
so that all mankind shall see the salvation
of the Lord,
who has the name and the face of Jesus,
who is reflected in our hearts,
for ever united to yours!

Amen!

Posted in New Evangelization, Our Catholic Identity, Pope of Christian Unity | Tagged
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Catholic League: Empire State Building against Mother Teresa?

Posted on 12 May 2010 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

In New York City at times you will see the Empire State Building illuminated with colored lights in honor of some event or group.

For example, a while back they turned on red and yellow lights to honor the Communist People’s Republic of China.

From the Catholic League:

May 12, 2010

EMPIRE STATE BLDG. STIFFS MOTHER TERESA

 

Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments as follows:

On August 26, the U.S. Postal Service is honoring the 100th anniversary of the birth of Mother Teresa. On February 2, I submitted an application to the Empire State Building Lighting Partners requesting that the tower lights feature blue and white, the colors of Mother Teresa’s congregation, the Missionaries of Charity, on August 26. On May 5, the request was denied without explanation.

Mother Teresa received 124 awards, including the Nobel Peace Prize, the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Medal of Freedom. She built hundreds of orphanages, hospitals, hospices, health clinics, homeless shelters, youth shelters and soup kitchens all over the world, and is revered in India for her work. She created the first hospice in Greenwich Village for AIDS patients. Not surprisingly, she was voted the most admired woman in the world three years in a row in the mid-1990s. But she is not good enough to be honored by the Empire State Building.

Last year the Empire State Building shone in red and yellow lights to honor the 60th anniversary of the Chinese Communist Revolution. Yet under its founder, Mao Zedong, the Communists killed 77 million people. In other words, the greatest mass murderer in history merited the same tribute being denied to Mother Teresa.

We are launching a nationwide petition drive protesting this indefensible decision (TO SIGN THE PETITION, Click here). We are petitioning Anthony Malkin, the owner of the Empire State Building, to reverse this decision.

To protest this decision, contact: lightingpartner@esbnyc.com

Posted in The Last Acceptable Prejudice | Tagged
7 Comments

The Feeder Feed: New Bird!

Posted on 12 May 2010 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

I have seen the season’s first …

Passerina cyanea…. Mr. Indigo bunting!

They like millet.  I shall put out more millet in a separate feeder. 

Meanwhile…

Here are three of the four male Grosbeaks which were parked for some chow at the same time.

The fourth is on the other side of the square feeder on the right.

Posted in The Feeder Feed | Tagged
6 Comments

SSPX Superior Bp. Fellay interviewed

Posted on 12 May 2010 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Our friends at Rorate have posted an interview by Brian Mershon with SSPX Superior Bp. Bernard Fellay.

Here is an excerpt:

Brian Mershon: Some critics say that the Society’s rejection of a canonical or practical solution is a sign of obstinacy or ill will. How do you answer that?

Bishop Fellay: It is very simple. The Holy See has agreed that the doctrinal talks should happen, so that should answer the questions without putting the burden on me. Besides that, it is very clear that whatever practical solution that would happen without a sound doctrinal foundation would lead directly to disaster. We don’t want that. We want and need the security of a sound solution on the level of doctrine to go ahead. So to pretend there is something definitive prior to engaging in the doctrinal talks…

We have all these previous examples in front of us—the Fraternity of St. Peter, the Institute of Christ the King and all of the others are totally blocked on the level of doctrine because they first accepted the practical agreement.

Brian Mershon: Do you believe the Pope personally sincerely desires a canonical solution with the Society of St. Pius X?

Bishop Fellay: Yes, I think so. Yes, I do. I think the Pope desires this. He wants the Church to be better and he wants to complete the quest of the consecration of bishops with the Society.

Posted in Brick by Brick, Pope of Christian Unity | Tagged
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QUAERITUR: the number of candles to be used

Posted on 12 May 2010 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

From a reader:

I would like to know what the rubrics are regarding the use of candles for the Divine Office in the Extraordinary Form. I have been reading through rubrics in Brevaries, but have found nothing concerning candles. I once heard that six candles are always used for sung Vespers, regardless of the rank of the feast.

Do you know where I could find regulations concerning this?

Yes, six candles are used for Vespers.  And two candles are brought in during the procession and set on the altar steps.

I believe Fortescue-O’Connell has that, as do most of the other manuals, such as Trimeloni and Collins, etc.

I will now pass the torch to readers who will no doubt shed more light on the matter.

Posted in Brick by Brick |
5 Comments